Home ministry recommends death penalty for Afzal Guru: Sources

NEW DELHI: Home ministry has recommended death penalty for Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru in its report, sources said.

In its report, the government has asked President Patil to reject Afzal Guru's mercy petition, Times Now quoted sources as saying.

The relevant file is expected to be sent to the Prime Minister's Office shortly from where it will be sent to Rashtrapati Bhavan, PTI reported.

The mercy petition was filed by Guru's wife Tabassum four years ago.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said that the President was yet to receive any recommendation on the Parliament attack convict from the government.

"We have not received anything on Afzal Guru from the Home Ministry yet," the spokesperson said.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna had sent the file on Guru to Home Ministry on June 3. The file was sent after 16 reminders from the home ministry to the Sheila Dikshit government.

Guru was sentenced to death by a sessions court on December 18, 2002 for the December 13, 2001 militant attack on Parliament House. The verdict was upheld by the Delhi High Court on October 29, 2003 and by the Supreme Court on August 4, 2005.

Subsequently, the sessions court set October 20, 2006 as the date for hanging Guru but his wife filed a mercy petition. The petition was referred by the Ministry to the Delhi government but the Dikshit government sat on it for nearly four years.